Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer on Wednesday named the same starting line-up that beat New Zealand a month ago to face Ireland in the opening Test of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour on Dublin on Saturday.
The only change to the match-day squad is at replacement prop, where the injured Marcel van der Merwe is replaced by Coenie Oosthuizen.
“Although Julian Redelinghuys was also considered, he’s still new in the team and not familiar with our patterns of play and especially the line-out calls, while Coenie knows the way we play well,” said Meyer.
“Coenie is also in great shape and we know what he can do, especially if he has to make an impact off the bench. It’s good to have him back.”
Meyer was very happy with the continuity in selection from the last Test.
“It’s only the fifth time in what will be the 34th Test since I was appointed as Springbok coach that we’ve been able to select an unchanged starting line-up,” said Meyer.
“In this day and age, not making changes to teams is pretty much unheard of, but this is a great position we’re in. However, we need to make it count against a very tough Irish side on Saturday.
“Although we won our last Test, the challenge this week is to make another step up. It’s imperative that we improve in all facets of our play.”
Springbok team:
15 Willie le Roux (21 caps, 35 points)
14 Cornal Hendricks (9 caps, 25 points)
13 Jan Serfontein (16 caps, 5 points)
12 Jean de Villiers (Captain – 102 caps, 135 points)
11 Bryan Habana (103 caps, 280 points)
10 Handré Pollard (6 caps, 56 points)
9 Francois Hougaard (32 caps, 25 points)
8 Duane Vermeulen (25 caps, 10 points)
7 Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje (3 caps, 0 points)
6 Marcell Coetzee (22 caps, 25 points)
5 Victor Matfield (Vice-captain – 117 caps, 35 points)
4 Eben Etzebeth (29 caps, 0 points)
3 Jannie du Plessis (60 caps, 5 points)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (66 caps, 45 points)
1 Tendai Mtawarira (61 caps, 10 points)
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss ( 40 caps, 25 points)
17 Trevor Nyakane (9 caps, 5 points)
18 Coenie Oosthuizen (17 caps, 10 points)
19 Bakkies Botha (83 caps, 35 points)
20 Schalk Burger (73 caps, 65 points)
21 Cobus Reinach (2 caps, 0 points)
22 Pat Lambie (36 caps, 81 points)
23 JP Pietersen (56 caps, 85 points)
Stats and facts:
- The Springbok starting team boasts a total of 672 Test caps (289 in the backline and 383 in the forwards), while there are a further 316 caps worth of experience on the bench.
- South Africa and Ireland have played each other 21 times since 1906, with the Springboks winning 16 Tests, losing four and one was drawn. The Springboks have scored 417 points and 60 tries and conceded 248 points and 24 tries for an average score of 20-12.
- South Africa and Ireland last met on 10 November 2012 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Springboks won 16-12.
- Jean de Villiers will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok centre, with 87 Tests in this position and will captain South Africa for the 31st time, placing him third behind John Smit (83) and Gary Teichmann (36).
- Victor Matfield will extend his own record as the most capped Springbok in history (117 Tests). He will also extend his record of 117 Tests as a lock and will also extend his record as the oldest Springbok ever at 37 years & 146 days.
- Bryan Habana will extend his record as the most-capped Springbok wing, with 102 Tests in this position. If he scores a try, he will extend his record of 56 Test tries for South Africa.
- If he scores a try Bismarck du Plessis will extend his record of nine Test tries for South Africa as a hooker. Bismarck and his older brother Jannie will extend their record of playing together in 40 Tests for the Springboks. Bismarck, Jannie and Tendai Mtawarira will also extend their record of 15 tests in the starting line-up as a front-row trio for South Africa.
- If he goes on as a flank, Schalk Burger will extend his own record as the most-capped Springbok flanker in history (71 caps). If he goes on as a flank and scores a try, he will become the sole record-holder for most Test tries as a flanker (11), a record he currently shares with Juan Smith.
- Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, Duane Vermeulen, Jannie du Plessis and Bismarck du Plessis have played in all nine Tests for the Springboks in 2014. Bryan Habana and Tendai Mtawarira have both missed only one Test in 2014.
- Schalk Burger (Jnr) and Cobus Reinach (both on the bench) are sons of former Springboks. Schalk Burger (Snr) played six Tests for South Africa (1984-1986) and the late Jaco Reinach four Tests for South Africa in 1986. They played together in all four Tests against the New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986.
- For Pat Lambie this is a return to the city where he made his Test debut off the bench against Ireland in 2010.
- It will be the third time in history that a Springbok team will have three centurions in the starting line-up. The two previous occasions were against Australia and New Zealand in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship earlier this year.
- Adriaan Strauss played against his cousin Richardt Strauss when the Springboks and Ireland last met in Dublin on 10 November, 2012. They are likely to meet each other again as Richardt is in the Ireland squad for this Test match.
- It will be Heyneke Meyer’s 34th Test in charge of the Springboks since he took over in 2012. Of the previous 33 Tests South Africa have won 24, lost seven and drawn twice. His winning percentage of 73% is second only to Kitch Christie’s 100% (14 Tests 1994-1995) since 1992.
- The referee is Romain Poite of France. It will be his fifth Test involving South Africa. In previous Tests the Springboks have won three and lost one. His last Test involving South Africa was in June this year against Wales in Durban – a game that the Springboks won 38-16.
Springbok Test match records in Dublin:
- Most points – 12 by Percy Montgomery (3c, 2p) against Ireland on 28 November, 1998 and Percy Montgomery again on 13 November, 2004 (4p).
- Most tries – three by Jan Stegmann and “Boetie” McHardy against Ireland on 30 November, 1912.
- Most conversions – three Gerhard Morkel against Ireland on 30 November, 1912 and by Percy Montgomery against Ireland on 28 November, 1998.
- Most penalty goals – four by Percy Montgomery against Ireland on 13 November, 2004.
- Most drop goals – one by Hannes Brewis against Ireland on 8 December, 1951 and by Morne Steyn against Ireland on 28 November, 2009.
Date: Saturday 8 November
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-Off: 19:30 SA Time (17:30 BST & GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
@ charlesm:
Howzit Charles. It wasn’t so much the hit by Gerber on Spenser, but the reaction or aftereffects by Spencer afterwards. it was clear as daylight that he was concussed but the Blues left him on the field for far too long.
Pity Ruan is injured wish him all the best with rest of his recovery. Guess predicting when players will get over injuries is not an exact science but it was surprising that he was in the squad, surely even if he was over it he would need to get a bit of game time first at lower level to test the recovery and build up confidence.
MacroBok wrote:
Met Jacques Engelbrecht, Lappies en Arno sal dit baie beter lyk
Plus nog ‘n fetcher of twee
Ek dink nie Arno se knie gaan hou nie
Ons moet ook vir Stegmann en Ndugane laat gaan, hulle is nou te oud
Akona laat my aan Helgaard Muller dink, hy gaan ook binnekort sy 20 jaar diens sertifikaat by die Bulle kry
All of us here in rugbytalk will miss Ruan Pienaar for the Boks on Saturday.
@ Victoriabok:
Jacques Engelbrecht het eerlikwaar nog nie veel beter as Ross gedoen nie, ek plaas self nie baie hoop in Arno nie, ek dink ons sal meetal staatmaak op Lappies.
Akona sal selfs volgende jaar een van ons meer betroubaarste spelers wees, die swart rolls royce.
Ek het meer hoop in Spies as speler jaar as dat Vleis of Ross enige verskil sal maak op 8.
grootblousmile wrote:
Ross 👿
We should ask Bands to run over him
Or Coenie “Doodpo*s” to beat the crap out of him
Or take him out permamently, let Matt Proudfoot fall on him
MacroBok wrote:
Jacques sal beter speel as ons lostrio gebalanseerd is, ons kort ‘n fetcher en nie Stegmann nie
Ek het baie respek vir Akona maar hy’s te oud nou
Die Bulle se briljante breintrust hou die useless Kallie Visagie en laat Bongi gaan
En om dit erger te maak speel hulle nie die haker wat gaan bly nie, o nee hulle gee Bongi gametime die hele Curriebeker
MacroBok wrote:
Deesdae meer die geroeste Hi-ace wat se ringe klaar is
64 @ Bullscot:
Hello,
No, I won’t miss Ruan Pienaar at all.
MacroBok wrote:
Hy gee die Bulle darem ‘n ekstra lynstaanopsie
Bullscot wrote:
Why?
We’re not playing Scotland this time 😛
The Bulls need a player like Jaco Kriel added to the loose trio.
At No 7 we are sorted with Lappies & Jacques du Plessis
At No 8 we should be Ok with Arno Botha, Spies & Vleis Engelbrecht
At openside… and to complete a balanced loose trio, Stegmann fits in well, but we need a 2nd Opensider… and to maybe even surpass Stegmann… Jaco Kriel would be ideal.
@ Victoriabok:
Ja, as Adriaan Strauss fiks is gaan hulle die kak uit hom uit speel, sy backups is Maku and Visagie.
Fetcher is moeilik, ek weet dit is belangrik, maar n fetcher kan nie basiese goed keer soos ouens wat die bal in kontak verloor nie, PW het nou die CB gewen sonder n fetcher, Die Sharks het die crusaders gewen sonder n fetcher…weereend, hoekom Strauss skaars n breuk gaan kry volgende jaar sodat hy uithelp by die afbreuk punte… Maar net my opinie, n fetcher maak nie jou agterlyn al die bal weg skop nie.
grootblousmile wrote:
I heard the Bulls wanted to buy Kriel
Maybe he’s tired of playing high level rugby? 😛
Victoriabok wrote:
It is only his first season 😀
76 @ MacroBok:
No, not his first season, he’s been around a while already, steadily improving season after season.
Started playing for the Golden Lions senior team in 2010
Started playing Super Rugby in 2011 for the MTN Lions
He’s 25 already and hails from Standerton.
The fact the Bulls did not have a fetcher this year was an easy scapegoat for mediocrity,
Spies, Lappies, Arno would be a good combo if spies is captain, which will be highly highly likely.
@ grootblousmile:
I have been following Kriel since after school, I know… the Lions just have not taken part in high level rugby for a while.
Tongue-in-cheek
grootblousmile wrote:
Stegmann never lasts more than two months before he gets injured, and when he returns he’s plain k@k for at least three. We should let him go and get Marnus Schoeman back from Griquas, he’s a good fetcher
I don’t think Arno’s knee will last, he should have gone over and played in the NH for a year or two to get the knee 100%. Super rugby will be hard on it
Spies would give stability to the young players and be a lineout option but that’s about it
We need to get rid of Ross, I’m telling you dumbf*ck Frans will play him ahead of Lappies, Vleis and Jacques
MacroBok wrote:
Whose tongue in whose cheek?
Frans and Jono again?
81 @ Victoriabok:
Marnus Schoeman is a good call… or Jean Cook again… but I’d prefer Jaco Kriel.
I really, really rate Kriel highly!
MacroBok wrote:
Jy’s reg oor die balle wegskop, JLP moet ook maar gaan. Hy was nog altyd gemiddeld en hy gaan nie beter word nie
Maar hy doen wat Frans vir hom sê
Maar die Bulls se gameplan is om groot baldraers oor die voordeellyn te kry en jy het ‘n fetcher nodig om jou balle te beskerm en ook turnover balle te wen
Weet jy wie het die meeste turnovers vir die Blou Bulle in die Curriebeker gewen?
Dean Greyling, ‘n blerrie stut
En die die S15 was dit elke week of Akona of Hougie
Die stats wys daar’s fout
@ grootblousmile:
I’m with you on Kriel !! I really hope he gets an opportunity on this tour
grootblousmile wrote:
Any or all three of those
What happened to Okkie Kruger, he used to play flank for the Blue Bulls and he was very good?
He was studying to be a Doctor
MacroBok wrote:
They played in the CC final at least, could have won if their kicker didn’t have the BMT of Wayne Ferreira
We haven’t won anything since 2010
85 @ charlesm:
He’ll probably be on the bench against Italy… and play the world on fire when he gets game time, just not to be picked again against Wales… well Flo won’t be available for Wales, so maybe he sits bench again there too… if he is lucky.
I’m hoping he gets good game time, so he can show what they have in him, on the heavy fields.
Good hands too, lekker fast, plays good options, tackles well, runs into space cleverly… all round good.
Would make a killer Sevens player too!
@ Victoriabok:
Dean is flippen goed met dit, hy was flippen moer goed in die CB, definitief ons speler van die jaar.
Daar was vir my n groter probleem met hoe die ouens die losgemale skoonmaak, jy sal my nooit vertel n fetcher maak skoon by elke losgemal nie, wel jy kan maar ek sal dit nie glo nie, n fetcher kan vir jou turnover bal wen, maar hoekom kan die ander ouens nie? en as ons doen dan skop hulle die bal weg, ons hele agterlyn sommer… n goeie fetcher sal n groot bydrae wees om die toernooi te wen, maar dit is nie n verskoning vir kak speel nie. 😆
Victoriabok wrote:
😆 😆
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